6 Filmmakers Who Have Mastered Fear in Storytelling

Whether it’s running from a monster or facing a terrifying existential crisis, horror and thriller remain the best genres for placing characters in fear-inducing situations while keeping audiences entertained with suspense and scares. While there are many great filmmakers who excel in these genres, these six have helped shape horror into what it is today.

- By JANUAR JUNIOR AGUJA

Alfred Hitchcock

It’s hard to think of horror without the man who made the genre not only a spectacle but also gave it a certain prestige.

Among Alfred Hitchcock’s many films, his most famous is the 1960 classic “Psycho,” which was revolutionary for killing off its main star, Marion Crane (Janet Leigh), early in the movie through its now-iconic antagonist Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins). This shocking twist was so pivotal that Hitchcock requested theaters not to allow latecomers, insisting that audiences arrive on time to avoid spoilers.

Other examples of his masterful storytelling include the psychological thriller “Vertigo,” about a retired detective who develops a fear of heights, and “The Birds,” which focuses on a small town under attack by a flock of aggressive birds.

Wes Craven

Just like Hitchcock, horror would not be the genre it is today without Wes Craven, best known for “A Nightmare on Elm Street,” featuring Freddy Krueger killing people in their dreams, and “The Hills Have Eyes,” which tells of a family terrorized by cannibals in the middle of the desert.

Craven is credited as one of the pioneers of the slasher subgenre, which dominated pop culture’s perception of horror in the ‘80s and ‘90s.